


The Dance

by holysmoaksoliver



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-02
Updated: 2014-11-02
Packaged: 2018-02-23 19:53:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2553551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holysmoaksoliver/pseuds/holysmoaksoliver
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver gets jealous watching Felicity dance with another man...</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Dance

**Author's Note:**

> This was a prompt from tumblr by WONDERFULSASSANDAMAZINGHAIR

Oliver was not happy with their current arrangement.  Going under cover was never something that he liked Felicity to be a part of, but this was particularly dangerous.  The charity event being hosted by a known associate of Malcolm Merlyn was not where he wanted Felicity to be.  Especially since ‘under cover’ was always more conspicuous for Oliver Queen than it should be.  He could never really be anyone other than himself.  One of the downsides to being a beloved son of Starling City.

 

For weeks they had been tracking a biochemist whose alias was ‘Lab Rat’ and Felicity had finally found a match on facial recognition.  The man-- Easton Calloway-- was anything but a lab rat.  Young and attractive, Felicity had told Oliver that the man looked too handsome to be evil.  Oliver had tried not to let that bother him, they were still getting back in the swing of being friends after all.

 

Felicity needed a file that she’d traced to Calloway’s personal cell phone but with the encryption software he was using, the only way to unlock it was to be close to him… closer than they’d be able to get during a meeting.  Oliver had tried insisting that he could handle it, but Felicity pointed out that Oliver would need a date to the charity event anyway, and besides, if anything went wrong, they’d never get another shot at the data.

 

So here he was, standing outside the nicest hotel in Starling City in a tuxedo waiting for Felicity to get there.  He should have insisted on picking her up, should have called in a favor and got Lyla to come with him instead, should have…

 

“Oliver?” her voice pulled him back to reality, where he swallowed hard as his eyes travelled up the length of her.

 

Felicity’s feet were strapped into the sexiest pair of black and silver heels Oliver had ever seen.  The shoes begged him to take her up to the penthouse and show her exactly how much he appreciated fine footwear.  His eyes made their way up her left leg, the slit in her floor length dress exposing the majority of her thigh to where he could see just the hint of a garter.  He gulped again, forcing his eyes to her face, not even allowing himself to take in the rest of her for fear of the compromising situation he would surely find himself in.

 

“Look…. whoa,” he stammered.

 

“Was there a complete sentence in there somewhere?” she asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear self consciously.

 

Oliver blinked repeatedly in attempt to clear his head.

 

“Make sure she has the device,” a voice said in his head.

 

“What?” Oliver questioned.  “Oh right.”  He cursed himself internally for not being more focused.  “Do you have everything you need to get the data from Calloway’s phone?”

 

“Smooth,” Diggle’s voice came into his ear again.  Oliver was two seconds away from removing the comm and making a go of it alone.

 

“Yes, everything is set,” Felicity answered.  “And I’ve got one of those too…” she said, brow raised and finger tapping her ear.  Felicity turned, heading for the door leaving Oliver to jog to catch up to her.  He told himself to brush it off, to relax, to focus.  Above all tonight, he needed to focus on the job.  He could pine over Felicity later on when their job was done and she was headed home.

 

Oliver rubbed his temples as he trailed behind her into the hotel lobby.  She took his arm when he gave the man at the door his name and they entered the ballroom where the event was being held arm in arm.  Oliver forced himself not to glance side-long at her, for all the good that did.  He could still smell her perfume, could still feel her hand resting on his arm, could still hear her melodic laughter at something she’d said and he’d missed completely because he was too busy thinking about not thinking about her.

 

“How close does that thing have to get to Calloway before it will pick up the data?” Oliver asked, ushering Felicity to the bar.  He could use a drink on this one.  Or twelve.

 

“Two feet,” Felicity answered.  “Which means I will either have to strike up an intense conversation with him, or drop the receiver into his pocket.”

 

Oliver shook his head.  “Retrieving it afterwards would be too risky.  I think we should try dancing…”

 

“Great idea!” Felicity exclaimed.  By the time Oliver had drained his glass of champagne to discuss strategy with her, Felicity was already gone.

 

His eyes quickly found her bouncing blonde locks as she was extending her hand to Calloway and laughing at something he’d said.  Oliver scoffed.

 

“Looks like someone is smitten,” Diggle said in Oliver’s ear.

 

“Not helping,” Oliver responded through gritted teeth.  And then his hand was rubbing his temple the instant he remembered that Felicity could hear everything they were saying.  Oliver let out a sigh and followed over toward Felicity and Calloway.

 

“And this is Oliver Queen,” Felicity said as he approached.

 

Calloway nodded.  “Your date?  Boyfriend?”

 

“Date,” Felicity answered swiftly.

 

Calloway nodded again, grinning at Felicity.  His attention quickly turned to Oliver.  “I hope that means you won’t mind if I steal her for a dance?  I make it a point to start off the festivities with a tango and this one looks like she can follow a lead.”

 

“This one,” Felicity countered, a twinge of annoyance in her voice.  “has a name.  And is actually great at following a lead.  Isn’t that right Oliver?”

 

“Mmm,” he acknowledged.  Barely.

 

“Yes, of course you have a name.  Felicity Smoak.  And what a name it is too.”  Calloway laid the charm on thick, that was for sure.  “Now how about that dance?”

 

Oliver’s head buzzed as Felicity placed her hand in Calloway’s.  Didn’t she remember that he was an associate of Malcolm Merlyn?  Didn’t she realize how dangerous that made him?  He hoped that she was just a natural at acting, because she appeared to be having a great time.

 

“How’s the download Diggle?” Oliver asked, fists and jaw clenched as he watched Calloway’s hands slide down Felicity’s side, pull her close to his body.  Their faces were just inches from each other and Felicity seemed…

 

He really didn’t want to admit that she looked aroused, but she had that same goofy smile on her face that always had when she watched him on the salmon ladder.  And he liked to think that when she was looking at him that way…

 

“Forty two percent.  Seems to be taking a bit longer than we expected.  Felicity you’re going to have to stay near him for at least two more minutes.”  Diggle answered.

 

Oliver met Felicity’s eyes as she glided around the floor with Calloway.  She gave him the slightest of nods, probably to assure him that she was fine even though Oliver was ready to swoop into action should she need it.  His eyes were fixed on her, the way she glided across the floor with Calloway, the sway of her hips, the rise of her chest as she breathed, counting out the beats to herself silently.

 

“Breathe, Ollie,” a voice soothed behind him.

 

Oliver let out the breath burning his chest from being held so long.  He glanced briefly to his side, the struggle to give up Felicity as the center of his focus not lost on him.

 

“Thea?” He questioned, confused at seeing his sister at the event.

 

His sister placed a hand on his arm, a comforting gesture, he was sure.  “Who's the guy stealing your girl?”

 

“She’s not my…” Oliver stopped, throwing Thea a glance.  She was grinning.  “That’s Easton Calloway.”

 

“Ah,” Thea answered.  “Do you want me to cut in?  Get your girl back for you?”  She turned to face him, blocking his line of sight before Oliver looked at her again.

 

Calloway’s hands were getting dangerously close to Felicity’s ass and Oliver could feel the anger coursing through him like adrenaline.  If he weren’t careful--

 

“Earth to Ollie…” Thea said, a hand waving in front of his face.

 

“No Thea, it’s okay,” Oliver said finally.  “She’s making…. connections.”

 

Thea frowned.  “Doesn’t Felicity already have like an amazing job with Ray Palmer?  I mean head of QC’s applied sciences division…. that’s a major step up from being your assistant, isn’t it?”

 

“I didn’t appreciate Felicity’s worth at the company,” Oliver ground out through gritted teeth.  “But Calloway is asking for…”

 

“Alright Felicity,” Diggle’s voice came in Oliver’s head again.  “Transfer complete.”

 

Oliver tore his eyes from Felicity and Calloway again. “Thea what are you doing here?” he asked finally.  And then understanding dawned on him.  “Malcolm asked you to come.”

 

Thea shrugged.  “Be his eyes and ears since he’s keeping his public appearances to a minimum at the moment.”

 

Oliver knew that he had to let it go.  Thea was spending time with her father, the only parental figure that she had left, not that Oliver would call Malcolm much of a parental figure.  But telling Thea not to see Malcolm would only have disastrous backlash against their relationship and serve to drive her closer to her biological father.  So Oliver kept his mouth clamped firmly shut.

 

The song ended and the room erupted in cheers and applause.  Calloway and Felicity both took a bow and after a kiss to the back of her hand, he released Felicity and went to mingle with other guests.

 

“Thea, be careful tonight,” Oliver said, leaning over and giving his sister a quick hug.  “I have a--”

 

“Meeting to get to?” Thea finished.  “Always running off somewhere,” she said with an eye roll.

 

Oliver’s stomach knotted at his sister’s remark.  How much easier would things be between them now if he’d just told her everything in Corto Maltese?  Or if he told her now?  No, it wouldn’t make it easier, it would just further complicate their already strained relationship.  Maybe once Merlyn drove Thea away and wasn’t a threat to their family anymore.

 

“Oliver, you coming?”  Diggle questioned in his ear again.

 

Oliver glanced toward the door where Felicity was already waiting.  He hurried to catch up, pulling the comm out of his ear and sticking it into his pocket.  He didn’t really want any other voices in his head anymore tonight.  The ones that were there were too loud as it was.  Telling him how screwed up he’d made things over the last year.  With his sister-- but mostly with Felicity, who Oliver had to admit seemed to be thriving in her new position with Ray Palmer.  It made it difficult to think about how much he’d been holding her back making her his assistant.  Even if he’d justified it to everyone saying that it was to keep her close to discuss their Arrow activities, he’d always wondered if it was just to keep her close.

 

At the door, Oliver gave Felicity a silent nod, which she returned.  Diggle was outside in a completely conspicuous black van.  But once both Felicity and Oliver were inside, they quickly sped away back to the Foundry.

 

\---

 

Two hours later, Felicity rolled her neck as she finished up a piece of counter intelligence to leak to Calloway’s buyers for his lethal biochem warfare virus which basically painted Calloway as a narc for the US Government who should not be trusted under any circumstances.  Felicity pushed the story through to necessary channels, where it should reach his buyers within just a few hours.

 

“Done,” she said, look up from her desk, meeting Oliver’s eyes across the lair.  He’d been staring at her working for far too long, especially considering the way they’d ended things three months ago.  That kiss lingered still, the ghost of her lips on his a haunted memory that came to him in his weakest hours.

 

“Good,” Oliver answered, standing from his perch on the side of one of the counters that faced her desk.  “You were good-- tonight I mean.  I didn’t know you could dance like that.”

 

She did something on her computer and music filtered through the speakers around the room.  Oliver recognized the tune-- sort of.  It was a club song, but it had been remixed as a smooth jazzy number.  In one quick motion she pulled the pins from her hair, letting her blonde locks fall around her shoulders, framing her face.  He felt his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed hard.

 

_Who knew that you’d be up in here lookin’ like you do_   
_You’re making staying over here impossible_

 

“It’s all about having a great partner,” Felicity countered, a hint of something in her eye that Oliver couldn’t quite name.  Competition, he thought maybe?  No, maybe more like a challenge.  “And Easton Calloway was a phenomenal partner.”

 

Oliver scoffed, pushing off the table and moving closer to her.  He stopped directly in front of her, invading her personal space.  He reached for her hand, pulling her to her feet and wrapping an arm around her back with swift resolve.  “I always thought dancing was more about… chemistry.”  His voice faltered on the last word, breathing in her closeness like it was the only oxygen in the room.

 

_Do you know what you started?  I just came here to party_   
_And now we’re rockin’ on the dancefloor acting naughty_   
_Your hands around my waist, just let the music play_   
_We’re hand to hand, chest to chest,_   
_now we’re face to face_

 

Oliver felt her arms and shoulders tense as they stood in position, neither of them moving despite the music.  And then he found his feet, whisking her away from her chair and toward the open space in the room.  He had instantly regretted the word, knowing that the chemistry between them was never something that could be contested.  It was why he had avoided her all these months, why he’d bit his tongue when she brought up working for Ray or visiting Barry in Central City.  He knew that their chemistry, their attraction was something he would have to get past.  And this was clearly not the way to do it.

 

Their eyes locked as their feet swept across the floor, Felicity the graceful balance to his slightly foggy remembrance of the tango.  He’d learned it in a bogus PE credit class he’d taken back at one of the various colleges he’d attended.  He thought it would be a good way to impress women, and although he hadn’t had much practice in it since then, he was now realizing that it seemed to have the desired effect.

 

“Where did you…” she asked, but was quickly silenced as he dipped her.  Her back arched in his hand with agility and poise and when he pulled her back up against him, he found that she held him just a little bit tighter.

 

_I said baby, baby are you ready cause it’s getting close_   
_Don’t you feel the passion ready to explode?_   
_What goes on between us no one has to know_   
_This is a private show…_

Oliver grinned, leading her around the empty space with more confidence.  Felicity clung to him like he was a liferaft and she was sinking.  He wondered what was going through her head, if she was thinking this was a mistake, if she were wishing he’d never grabbed her and held her close.  He remembered their last night this close, when he’d reached down without warning, took her face in his hands and kissed her with all the strength he had in him.

 

Would she say the same thing to him now?  To stop dangling maybes?  To let her go or to be with her… instead of dragging on what could be, what he wanted to be and what he could possibly never be?  Nothing had changed.  He was still Oliver Queen without actually being Oliver Queen.  He was still the Arrow, still clinging to the hope that a single identity would make it easier for him to separate what he did from the people he loved.  For all the good that had done him so far.

 

In a grand finale, aka, the end of the steps that he remembered from his college class, Oliver twirled her across the floor and they came to a halt, hand to hand, chest to chest, face to face.

_I wanna take you away_   
_Let’s escape into the music, DJ let it play_   
_I just can’t refuse it, like the way you do it_   
_Keep on rockin’ to it_   
_Please don’t stop the, please don’t stop the music_

 

He was breathing hard from the exertion.  He wasn’t sure why since his normal routine included a vast amount of running.  Although it wasn’t usually in the presence of Felicity, and for some reason, that made a difference.  He noticed that they were actually both panting hard, the blonde struggling to catch her breath in front of him.  Their eyes were still locked, the music still playing, but the electricity between them hung thick in the air.

 

He couldn’t be sure who moved first, only that their lips met with too much force in the middle, hands groping for a hold on each other’s body.  Felicity hands were around his back, fisted in the white dress shirt that he was still wearing from the event.  Oliver’s hands were more greedy, tracing the curve of her hips until he found the spot along the small of her back that made her shudder into him closer.  He wasn’t sure how he hadn’t noticed before how low the back of her dress was, but his calloused hands found nothing but soft skin as he moved his hands upwards, pulling the entire length of her body against his.  She pushed herself toward him, into him and Oliver pushed back, just enough for her feet to stumble backwards quickly finding the wall he was looking for to press her against it.

 

Her teeth grazed his bottom lip and Oliver’s hand flew to her chin, pulling her eagerly toward him.  It was nothing like he remembered of their previous kiss, which had been passionate but gentle.  This was hyped desire and unrelenting need.  They stayed locked there until the kisses became slow and caressing until finally their lips stopped meeting all together.  Oliver’s forehead rested against Felicity’s and his hands cupped her face again pulling forward those anguished memories of their first kiss once more.  He hoped this would have a better ending, although chances of that were slim.

 

Felicity cleared her throat, her hands moving to Oliver’s chest, pushing him away from herself just enough that they were barely touching now.

 

“This can’t keep happening,” she whispered quietly, her voice barely audible.  Oliver’s hand moved slowly up her cheek, the back of his finger wiping away the single tear she’d shed.  She was probably yelling at herself for it, he knew.  That she’d let him see her cry.  “Things are the same as they were three months ago.  You are still refusing to be Oliver Queen, and I… I still refuse to wait around for maybes.”

 

“But--” Oliver began to protest, but what would he say?  Everything she had just said was right.  Nothing had changed.  And clearly that meant nothing-- not even their feelings for one another.

 

“We got caught up in the music and the champagne and the win,” she said.  And he wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince him or herself.  After all, neither of them had drank more than a single glass of champagne and even that had been hours ago.

 

But Oliver nodded anyway, letting her explain away their indiscretions.  His hands fell from her face and he pulled back, withdrawing from her warmth, from her presence, from everything that made him drown in her every time she was near.  He turned away from her as the final moments of the song hung in the air like a reminder taunting him.

 

_Please don’t stop the_   
_Please don’t stop the_   
_Please don’t stop the music_   
_Please don’t stop the music_

It was on a loop, he realized as he made his way to the stairs, and something about the irony of it almost made him turn back.  The song was on a loop, playing constantly on repeat.  Like the way teachers constantly go over something until a student gets it right.  Just like their relationship, he thought with brief and blooming optimism.  There was something between them that would never stop, something that would continue on, until they got it right.

 

 


End file.
